The invention relates to a bed covering apparatus that has an air inlet equipped with a fastener. In an unfastened condition, the fastener is in a position that leaves open the air inlet. In a fastened condition, the fastener is in a position that closes the air inlet.
The bed covering provides for distribution of a flow of pressurized conditioned air into a zone around the body of a bed occupant. That is, an engineered layer of bedding connects to a supply of pressurized conditioned air evenly distributes the conditioned air to a single specific zone of the bed. There may be connection of one of two independent supplies of conditioned air into the single layer of engineered bedding to evenly distribute such independent supplies into one of two specific dual zone areas about the multiple bed occupants, thus providing independently conditioned zones within the bed for each occupant. The bed covering further avoids the feeling of foreign and unnatural apparatus in the bed to the occupants by providing for a bedding texture against the skin of ordinary cotton linens and comforters.
The body of the average person releases a substantial amount of heat through skin loss and moisture due to perspiration to the surrounding air. The usual practice of covering the body during sleeping has the effect of insulating the body from the surrounding room air and thereby holds such released heat and moisture in the air about the body.
In cold weather when the room temperature may be below 70 degrees F., heavy covering is frequently employed so as to minimize the exchange of air about the body with the surrounding room air and thus has the effect of increasing the air temperature and humidity about the body. In such instances a person will often throw off the covering while asleep, which will then result in chilling. In warm weather when the room temperature is above 70 degrees F., a lighter covering is usually employed but the moisture which results from perspiration is still retained about the body by the insulating covering, causing personal discomfort and results in poor rest.
While air conditioners are highly effective at coarsely controlling the temperature in a room, the customary preference for persons to sleep beneath one or more bed sheets, covers, blankets, etc., coupled with the body's tendency to liberate heat during its normal operation translates to the well-known situation in which the person resting beneath the sheets cannot get comfortable because they are too hot, which is compounded by the proposition that if they remove the covers or sheets from themselves then they become too cold.
Inflatable mattresses have an air inlet opening equipped typically with a plug that is movable between and unplugged position that allows access to the air inlet opening from the outside to effect inflation and a plugged position that closes the air inlet opening in a sealed manner to trap the air inside that inflated the mattress. In the clothing industry, conventional fasteners include snaps, strips of hooks and loops and zippers that are sewn into clothing at a location that is adjacent a clothing opening. In that way, a fastener can be either fastened into a closed position that closes the adjacent clothing opening or unfastened to open the adjacent clothing opening.
A conventional bed covering is not inflatable and for that reason does not have air inlet openings to receive the flow of pressurized air. To the extent that a consumer wants an inflatable bed covering to resemble a conventional bed covering that is not inflatable when the inflatable bed covering is not in use, it would be desirable to at least partially conceal if not fully conceal the air inlet of an inflatable bed covering. Further, there exists a need for an improved system for distributing both warm and ventilated or cool conditioned air throughout a bed into one or two zones, while not introducing elements or textures to the users that were previously foreign to the bed, while also avoiding giving rise to a ballooning effect of the bedding while delivering the pressurized air.